Nine months on the Loue. 6. April 1963

 

Champagne-sur-Loue, Sunday [7] April 1963.

I can't stop to say much as we're leaving to collect Julie at Dôle at 3:30pm. As yet I've still got to make up another bed for her but know you'll be anxious to know that she'd arrived safely. I'll post this immediately we collect Julie and you should receive it Tuesday or Wednesday. The nuns have given me back the room I had in the convent when I had German measles so Julie and I can have a room to share. I've already carted all my luggage and two beds over there and even made up one of the beds. Yesterday I collected three vases of wild flowers for Julie so when I've finished the room will look really lovely. Unfortunately a girl is using my bedroom in the school for a week and I've had to take down all my Elvis pictures so Julie won't be able to see it in its true glory. 

Don't worry about Julie will you? I promise not to let her out of my sight and she'll be perfectly okay. Thérèse and her friend will have met her in Paris and taken her to Mass in one of the big Parisian churches then given her lunch before seeing her on the train for here. At least she won't be starving though I pity her having to eat all alone with strangers. French table manners and food, as I've already told you, are very different from the English. Must go. Don't worry, if I have no time to write immediately I meet Julie I'll just drop this in the post and you'll know she's arrived.

[Dôle.]

I've just met Julie and she's fine. Guess what, she was an hour late arriving in Paris because of engine trouble with the plane. They pick them out for us, don't they?

Champagne-sur-Loue, 9 April 1963.

By now you will have got that rushed note that I sent on Sunday, finished on Dole station two-and-a-half minutes after meeting Julie. She said she didn't get to the air terminal until 11:10 and couldn't see anyone, so decided to sit down and wait for them to find her. Being Julie, she was as placid as ever. Anyway a bloke asked if she was waiting for someone and then came back again ten minutes later. Seeing that she hadn't been claimed, he took her under his wing and called her name out over a microphone. Thérèse heard it and came and took charge. Her friend could speak English well enough to understand what Julie said (which was probably not very much) and they rushed her to the station and put her on the train for Dole. A woman in Julie's carriage could speak a bit of English and told her when she got to Dole, so Julie got off ok, although she said she already knew it was Dole before the woman told her.

I got there two and a half minutes later because as we were leaving one of Sœur Martin's cousins arrived, and Sœur Martine hadn't seen him and his family for five years, so she chucked me in the car broke the world speed record to the nearest convent, and persuaded some innocent nun to take me to Dole, then telephoned her cousin to come and take her back to Champagne.

Coming back from Dôle, we discovered Julie hadn't been to the toilet since leaving London, so we had to stop urgently en route at a tiny convent and the nuns asked us all into have tea, which we did while they examined Julie from various angles and turned my my brain inside out interpreting for them all.

When we got to Champagne, all the nuns came rushing up to see Julie and say hello, and then she met the girls staying in the school and, although neither understood the other, Françoise and Julie became firm friends and held a discussion together on how daft and horrible I was! As I had to do the interpreting, I was none too pleased. Yesterday afternoon I gave Julie a French lesson on the banks of the Loue and, as we had blazing sunshine, Julie saw Champagne at its best and declared it far surpassed her expectations. At lunch time Sœur Martin came charging in to tell me I was wanted on the telephone by my Dad [...] so I went to answer it with Julie. The phone had an extension so Julie was able to hear. However what with Henry at one end yelling "Can you hear me because I can't hear you. I can't say much because I've only got a minute", and Julie yelling in my other ear that she wanted to tell him about her plane trip and I was mean not letting her have a gossip, I couldn't make much sense of anything - and with Sœur Martine yelling in French to know what was going on, I felt like hitting somebody! Anyway please don't phone again because I couldn't hear what was being said and it was a waste of money [...]. I can realise though but you were anxious for Julie, so it eased my worries on that score.

Julie and I are now staying in Lyon. Both of us together, to my relief with Marie Noelle, and we spent today looking around the old town. We visited a Roman theatre. There was an admission fee but the chap said if we showed passports to prove we were students we could go in free. Luckily we had them with us. It's now midnight and both of us are very weary, so will continue in the morning. Goodnight from us both. [...]

Wednesday.

Well, it's 11:30 in the morning and I have a few minutes before lunch. Julie has learnt quite a few French words by now and gets on ok, although I feel sorry for her at mealtimes because Marie Noelle and speaks in French so that her husband can understand and the rest of the day in English. We dined out at Mary Noelle's mother's last night, so I chatted with Julie all the time, just throwing in a phrase every now and then to make it look as if I was joining in the general conversation. I got a bit annoyed though because I don't like the mother at all [with her remarks such as] "Do you have a maid to help your mother in England?" or "I suppose you have a really luxurious kitchen; English people usually do".

Anyway we are going round Lyon tonight to see the lights, and tomorrow Julie and I are going to a museum of puppets while Marie Noelle and Pierre go to a funeral. Julie is getting much more used to everything and is talking a lot more, I'm glad to say, but to start with I had nervous indigestion at every meal worrying about her because she was too polite. She didn't understand France's appalling etiquette.

[Lengthy section on the excessive amount of clothing Jill's mother had rigged her out with, and how will she get her own clothing home now?]

We're getting Julie's £4 changed this afternoon and having tea and cakes with a friend of Marie Noelle who runs a chemist shop later. I am ever so happy Julie is here, as you know, but do hope you're not feeling too old and miserable without either of us to liven the place up. [...] Treat yourself to Easter eggs and go to the seaside or something. We would send you an egg but it would get broken and we can't afford one anyway because they're ever so expensive in France and not very nice.

Françoise was delighted with the comb case and hugged and kissed not only me but Julie as well. Unfortunately I suppose I'll have to take studies as normal while Julie is here but as the weather's mild she can go and enjoy the animals or go for walks in on the Clos during that time, or else read Rebecca, the only English book I have got here, apart from a large biology textbook and as Julie has no interest in pyloric and cardiac sphincters [...] I doubt she will be interested. Still she is very happy to be in France and is a lot less lost now although even the records and radio programme she hears are in French. Julie has just asked me to tell you that she enjoyed her plane trip over, and also enjoyed the countryside from the train window.

Champagne-sur-Loue, 15 April 1963.

It's now 5:00p.m. Easter Monday and Julie and I have come out for a picnic on our own. We're sitting in a vineyard above the Loue and as I'm writing we can hear the first cuckoo of Spring. The sun has gone in and I'm afraid it will soon rain, although it's very warm and we've had perfect weather since we got back from Lyon. I'd like to get back to school before it rains but Julie is in the middle of a huge bar of chocolate, four apples and a French loaf and refuses to budge until it's all gone. Fortunately there's a shelter here for the chap who tends the vines in summer, so we'll go there if it rains.

Julie has made herself absolutely at home and in the two days that she's been back from Lyon has left the light on overnight in the cellar and broken a soup dish, two dinner dishes, a jug and a bowl. I bet I bet it must be a record!

Actually neither incident, as it happens, were really her fault and, as Julie and I did the washing up for about 18 people as well as all the dishes used for cooking by the nuns, they didn't mind about the crockery at all because it was all old, and anyway they thought I'd done it not Twinkletoes. (Julie is having hysterics over reading what I so far written!)

Yesterday, as is the custom in France, we had hard-boiled eggs that we, that is to say Tien, Hyldigo, Julie, Laine and myself, had prepared. The nuns had dinner with us and Sœur Martin had even Julie falling off her chair with laughter, although she couldn't understand a word she said. Because she was so tiny against Julie she found three encyclopaedia to stand on. She put them on her chair to sit on while she ate, and it did indeed make her taller, but she couldn't reach down to her plate on the table, so she put a couple of books under her plate to make it higher. She even stood on her books while she said the prayer after the meal, and all the other nuns repeated each line dutifully after her. It went like this:

Thank you for the Jesus for these flowers.

Thank you Jesus for this meal.

Thank you Jesus for this wonderful weather.

Thank you Jesus for Jill's hairstyle.

Thank you Jesus for all my parrots!

Well, what a religious nun and she is! (By the way, Julie has just got through the bread and apples and has nearly finished the chocolate.)Saturday night we went to midnight mass at Villers-Farley about six miles away, partly by car and partl on foot. We got back here at 2:00am and found Sœur Martine had prepared us a midnight feast of French rolls, yoghurt, oranges, biscuits, toast, cheese, and cocoa. We were eating and talking so didn't get to bed until 3:30am and slept till 11:00am The midnight mass was very interesting although rather long for Julie, being two hours in length and in Latin and French, although I did explain bits of the service. They had a bonfire outside the church before it started which signified the light of God, and then everyone entered the church behind the priest. The church was in darkness, except for the light of a huge candle, and then everyone lit the candles they carried and mass was said by candlelight. They blessed the baptismal water for the year before the mass started, and in all it was very lovely and enjoyable, although were all nearly falling asleep.

When we decorated the eggs for Easter Sunday I had the idea of making one to look like a sister of the convent and got Hyldigo to do it [...] and even got glasses made of wire on it. It was identical to the nuns. We kept it for a surprise and put it on the table for decoration. When the nuns arrived, you should have seen their astonishment! Still they thought it gorgeous, and no one would eat it, and it even now decorates the convent so it will soon be smelling I reckon.

Julie and I went to the puppet museum in Lyon and got in free because we have passports to prove we were students. That saved us six shillings and, with four shillings the day before at the Roman Theatre, it was a good deal, wasn't it? The puppets were terrific and Julie really enjoyed seeing them, although I found some historic things I preferred like coin and china collections, and most of all the actual frame of the bed in which The Empress Josephine, Napoleon's wife used to sleep.

We drove down to a huge country house in the middle of one of the most important wine growing regions of France, the Beaujolais region. Soeeur Jeanne Catherine's mother lives there in summer, and all Sœur Jeanne Catherine's nieces and nephews are there for their holidays. We saw masses of vines while we were there and later Marie Noelle told us that her husband Pierre owns some vines and they made their own wine, although most of it they sold. Anyway, he gave us a bottle to bring home to you for a present, so you'll be getting it when Julie comes back. It's a good wine and so would be one of the dearest in England. Anyway it's raining so I'll get back to the school, seeing as Julie has finally completely finished eating! See you later, love Jill and Julie.

Tuesday.

Well, school has started again, and Julie has met all the girls. They all tried saying things to her in English, but you know what Julie is. She can't see why they want to say "good night" just after dinner and so look she looks bored, or she answers them in rapid English and they don't understand. It's just started to rain, so Julie and I are in the office and Julie's miles away reading Rebecca. I've already been to a French lesson today which to my delight I understand every word. Danielle thanks you very much for the mascara. She came back with her hair cut and rinsed a chestnut cover - it's usually the same colour as mine. Francoise hasn't come back yet although she was expected at 9:00am by taxi. I can't blame her for taking an extra day after all the work she did during the holidays. One good thing, the horrible girl who used to follow me about has now left the school and works in a watchmaking factory in Salins, so I'm relieved about that.

A bit later.

I'm keeping Julie amused by playing draughts with her. So far I won both games but it keeps her occupied, and I can keep writing while she's thinking. [...] I've just won another game and it's now grub time. Julie and I moved all our things back into the school today and I'm really exhausted by Julie's so-called "help". [...]

If I could arrange for someone in Paris to meet Julie at the station and take her to either the air terminus or the airport and see she's ok, then I need not spend about £6 going back with her her. This could only be carried out if Julie came home on my ticket and me on hers because both are made out for Miss J Simpson and mine is valid until October and enables one to fly at any time on any flight, while Julie's only allows for the 10:00pm flight, which means she would have to wait ten hours in Paris while with me it wouldn't matter terribly much because I can go to the woman I was with last time but, if Julie was there, she would be lost as they can't speak English. Julie'ss ticket is valid until the 7th of July so if I come back on the 13th of June it will still be ok, wouldn't it? What do you think? It means Julie wouldn't see Paris but I'd be £6 better off although, as I'll probably need to use it to post things home, it won't make much difference.

Last night I went mad and couldn't stand my hair a minute longer; it's grown so quickly that it was really horrible, so I cut it again and everyone says it's better. I hope they're right. Julie likes it anyway and we all know how hard she is to please. Julie tells me she's got two more weeks holiday, so she will probably be coming home in a couple of weeks at the end of April or beginning of May. Is that what you want? Well, I'm now taking the evening study with poor old Julie all on her own in the office. She is deeply engrossed in Rebecca and I've left her writing materials in case she wants them. Unfortunately the weather's bad but normally she should be able to go for a walk at this time, so it won't be too bad. I've got far, far more work than I can cope with, and at least ten letters to write, piles of French to do, and countless biology studies. I guess I'll have to just write short letters to everyone while Julie's here.

[Section on fire in family's kitchen in Croydon]

I've got dozens more cheese labels, and Julie herself will tell you I wasn't exaggerating when I said that I had enough to paper the kitchen and the living room. I'll send them home with her, but please don't go and throw any away will you. [...] The staff from my counter in Woolworth's sent me a lovely Easter card, which was very thoughtful of them wasn't it? [...]

Sœur Martine was playing draughts with Julie and me last night and spent hours calculating each move. It became vas very boring, but she refused to stop until she won, which happened at 11 p.m., and off she went with shrieks of delight. She was fascinated by Julie's chain belt and did a swap. Thus Sœur Martins had a nun's robes and a pagan chain belt around her middle and Julie had a summer skirt and leather belt with a huge wooden rosary attached. It was most amusing, and the two of them get on like Wildfire.

Anyway will write soon. Keep smiling, both of you. All our love, Jill and Julie.

Champagne-sur-Loue, 20 April 1963.

It's Saturday morning and I've been asked if I'd mind taking two hours study. Every day this week I've been asked to take extra studies and when Julie is here it annoys me. Oh well, I suppose it's my fault really because Madame Servant has gone on and caught my German measles and is at her home so I have to sit in for her here. Julie has started writing to you but only got as far as writing two sentences before giving up. She spends her spare time out in the Clos while I'm not there but when I am available she drags me around the countryside for walks and cycle rides. The weather here is perfect and Julie's really sunburned and very happy. She came to the English lesson yesterday but unfortunately she chose the wrong day because I lost my temper with one girl and really gave her what for. I was awfully short-tempered yesterday because everything went wrong and when that kid did nothing but giggle I couldn't stand it a minute longer. Still, she certainly behaved herself for the remaining hour.

All the girls like Julie and jabber away to her quite happily regardless of the fact that she couldn't understand. I'm also glad that they speak in English to her. The other night Julie was in bed and I was still gossiping with Francoise and Danielle. When I went to see Julie later she told me that Nelly, one of the pupils had been to say goodnight to her and had left her a beautiful bunch of Violets on her little bedside stool. Wasn't it sweet of her? I like her better than any other girls here but, strange to say, nobody, not even the nuns, like her at all. Yesterday I also found a vase of may and yew in my room from Nelly, although Nelly says it wasn't her that put them there.

I've written a letter to the Croydon Advertiser giving them my opinion of the fluoridation of our water supply. I reckon it's a good thing what do you think? I got your letter this morning and it was a great relief to hear again at last. Please let me know very quickly what days are convenient for Julia to come back and if you will meet her at the airport or terminus, and do you want her on an afternoon or night flight? If it's an afternoon it will mean you'll have to use my ticket. What do you think? I'll have to write next week at the latest for her ticket and to arrange for someone in Paris to meet her if I don't go with her, which I honestly can't afford. Will you be sending money for her train fare back or will she make do with what she already has?

The other day we went for a ride by the river Loue and found a tame rabbit which had got out of its cage. We played with it for a while and then took it to a nearby Farm where they said it was belonged to their neighbour. This afternoon we are going to see my friends who live in Liesle, provided we can find time in between all the studies that I have to take.

I have made a decision. When I come home I'll have a couple of months before Julie is on holiday and so I'm going to try and get part-time work in a Croydon travel agency until mid-August for three days a week. I don't know if it will work out, but being able to speak French should help and I could always do it a bit of typing if necessary and I ought to be able to manage it, always provided they need anyone. What do you think of the idea? It will be a little less tiring than shop work as I would be sitting down.

Don't worry, Julie's return air ticket is well looked after. I put it with mine under lock and key. [...].

The radio has gone berserk so I can't get the news to find out how England is. [...] Still, we will soon be home with you both again only about one and a half months left to go - just 56 days I think - and Julia will be home within a couple of weeks. I can't say that I'll be all that sorry to leave here. Everyone is very kind, but I would sooner be home in good old England with my Mum and Dad and Mog. Also I'll be glad to get some decent English non-fattening food and not have carbohydrates shovelled into me in every imaginable shape and form, giving me the appearance of the first balloon ever to ascend over London in the 1780s. [...].

I will write more later, but want to do some more biology, so will say ta-ta.

[Much omitted in this letter, mainly relating to matters in England].

Champagne-sur-Loue, Monday 22 April 1963.

Well I've no more startling news so I'll just give you what I've got and then go and have a cold bath. It will have to be cold because we have not had any hot water on tap for the last three days and I have already washed my hair in it and come out with icicles dripping from my ears.

Yesterday a priest was saying his first mass in his own village and we were all going to mass at Cramans in order to see it. However Saturday night Julie scared me by saying her throat was bad and it hurt to swallow as if she got tonsillitis. Well, she hasn't had a chance to get a cold, so I didn't think it could be that, but was scared because the German measles epidemic is at large still, and she's not had it, although she's just been here long enough to get it. Also, with her nose and throat, I didn't know if it could be that, and I didn't want a bloody nuisance on my hands, did I. Still, as she had been sitting in the sun for two hours that morning while I was in study and her neck had got very burned, I thought it was only that, but I didn't want to take chances, so the nuns gave me a suppository, an aspirin and nasal drops for the poor little blighter. Anyway she flatly refused the suppository, and I can't say I blame her, but suffered the rest. Yesterday morning she was completely better, although Sœur Martine did offer to scrub her throat out for her with a bottle-brush!

Anyway, although she was better, I decided it will be more prudent if she didn't tire herself out with the long walk to Cramans, so we went to mass at Champagne and had a peaceful morning alone at the school because of the girls didn't get back until after 1 p.m. They said it was a pity we missed the priest's first mass as it has been really beautiful.

In the afternoon I did some more work on my over blouse and have now nearly finished it. About 3:15 a couple of visitors arrived for me. They were Marie-Thérèse, the girl I would have spend Christmas with if I hadn't come home, and her friend Claire. It was very nice surprise although they were silly not to have phoned before coming as it was only chance they found me in, and it's 18 km which, is about 12 miles, here and the same back, and on a bike it can be a long journey as it's all up and down hill, if I'm not there. Anyway we spent a terrific afternoon gossiping and as Marie-Thérèse has been in England for one month she's not at all bad at our lingo. So Julie was able to gossip with them a lot as Claire too speaks it as she has been studying English for five years. We had piles of maps out explaining all the various parts of France, Switzerland, Italy, England and Germany that we knew between us.

Marie-Thérèse has a pen-friend she has visited who lives in Staffordshire near Helen, at Wolverhampton just outside Birmingham. Anyway she has given me the girl's address and asked me to look in on her if I go up to see Helen this year, which I probably will.

Anyway I'll have to go now as Judy is yelling for her breakfast and I've got to catch the postman. The weather is not so hot today but never mind, it was too hot on the other days. Please send some big envelopes and a tube of Buto. Bye-bye, be good. Julie will be home within a fortnight and me four weeks later. Lots of love to the three of you from Jill and Julie.

Champagne-sur-Loue, 24 April 1963.

Well, it's 9 p.m. Tuesday night and both Julie and I are in bed but there's no hope of Judy mobilising her pen to you as she spends her spare time reading Rebecca. The weather here has been a lot less warm today and this evening it started raining heavily. [Lengthy calculation on number of seconds until she returns omitted].

Wednesday morning.

Well I just dropped off to sleep from all my strenuous mathematical calculations last night but I'm almost normal again this morning. Julie is still in the first stages of emerging from her chrysalis and taking a shower which I've told her to do before study finished, then maybe I will find time to take her for a cycle ride as I've no lessons all morning, I hope. Still, I have so many things to do I don't usually have time time to spend more than an hour at a time with her. Fortunately while I'm unavailable she is quite capable of amusing herself.

Yesterday I got a letter from Margaret Debenham in which she said we ought to have the bomb for defence against Russia. It got my wild up to such an extent that I wrote five pages against the bomd and just one on general news to her. [...] I also got a letter and a belated New Musical Express from Margaret Hurrel which had been posted on March the 1st. It was almost two months getting here; I wonder why? [...]

I did two and a half hours of biology revision yesterday and have completely filled 48 pages like this over the recent month, although I've done a lot less since Julie has been here as I have had so much extra work to do do, such as cleaning her shoes doing her laundry etc. Min you, Julie cleans out my bedroom and makes my bed every morning so I can't complain.

Yesterday and today the weather hasn't been nearly so nice and it rained all night but it's still very warm. Did I tell you that dude is the day out in the clue recently and I both have really Brown from it everyone comments on it.

Danielle is a nuisance but I suppose I'll have to ask, although I can hear you muttering curses from here. She wants a Bermuda Tan powder refill for her sister-in-law who's got a compact for it, and a tube of Miners Brown mascara refill for her aunt. She will pay me for them, so it will work out the same as you sending me 10 shillings if you don't mind. [...] She has done so much for me since I've been here I feel obliged to at least ask. [...]

Anyway I'll continue another time as I've no more news for the moment.

Thursday 25th April.

Well, I've not been able to find a chance to continue before today because Julie naturally wants to see as much of the area as possible. As I took no lessons yesterday, we went to Buffard on our bikes, saw inside the church, and then cycled five miles along the side of the Loue to Port-Lesney where we bought a couple of postcards and saw around the village. We then came back on the other side of the Loue to Champagne just in time for lunch. Then, after the girls had takien their walk, I spent the afternoon doing biology until 4:45 when I went to a French lesson, and then another one and a half hpurs biology. During the afternoon Julie helped me with my biology and read Rebecca. This morning she had a throat that hurt her, so I given her a couple of aspirins and nose drops and the gargle, because they're the only suitable things available. She's put on piles of woollies and is spending the day in the kitchen because she doesn't want to spend it in bed. Personally I reckon she's caught German measles and am waiting for the spots to appear. If so it will make her one week later getting home but that's all. She'll have to spend four days in bed in the Convent but, as I've already had it, I will be with her nearly all the day to care for her. She's very quiet and very un-Julie-like, but says she feels a bit better so we'll have to see.

I have been here seven months and have never opened my box of Elastoplast. Julie keeps scratching and cutting herself and has nearly finished the box! Still, I think she's really profited from her visit and she is certainly sunburnt. Unfortunately during the last two days the sun has completely disappeared and it's been raining, and the weather is enough to get anyone down.

I've been looking at times of flights, and there's a plane that leaves Le Bourget at 16:00 hours and arrives at London airport at 17:00. That will be the best flight, if she came on my ticket, as her train reaches Paris at 12:15. If she really wanted, she could spend the day in Paris with Thérèse and her friend, who will probably show her a bit of the place and would take her to Gare des Invalides and see on the coach by 20:00 then she would get to the airport at 21:00 and had her luggage weighed and checked in by 21:30 to get the plane at 22:00 And arrive at London airport by 23:00. Julie has just said that if possible she would prefer the latter arrangement so she could see a bit of Paris as well. She could speak English with the woman. Also should see some of the important places of Paris. However perhaps it would be best in that case for her to come home on a Saturday or Sunday as they have spare time then. Therefore it will be best if she came on the 11th or 12th May or 4th or 5th, if there is still time to arrange for her to come by then. Anyway, please answer this better by return of post if possible so as to save too much time, as I've yet to send her ticket to Paris and wait for its return. I'll discuss it with Sœur Martine this afternoon and let you know the results. I'll try to get up on the 22:00 flight for Saturday 11th May if possible and will send off her tickets as soon as I can.

Friday morning.

I still haven't been able to find Sœur Martin as she rushed off to the mountains yesterday, but I'll try and find her tomorrow or later today. Julie is much worse and I think she'll stay in bed today. Her voice is no more than an ugly croak and she said her throat is agony. I've given her everything I can think of to help including aspirins, nose drops, gargles and lemon drinks, very hot and sweet, but all to no avail. On it came again a couple of hours later, and it's the aspirins that do most good but, as they only drug the cold or whatever it is, I'm dubious of giving her too many. I can't tell any of the nuns about her either because they just give her a box of suppositories and sit back awaiting the healing.

[Paragraphs about a letter from Rosemary and another from Jill's Gran, plus a long rant about America.]

Saturday.

I'm in my bedroom with "Saturday Club" playing and Julie sitting up in my bed - she likes my bed better than her own. She spent all day yesterday in bed very ill, but this morning was a lot better. However, I thought another day in bed would do her no harm and have left the window open as it's warm and sunny out and the air will do her good and she's got lots of warm things on. She will get up tomorrow anyway. I've given her the gargle, aspirin and some hot lemon every night and an orange at breakfast time so I think that's done a lot of good, but I don't know what she's had. Still she's well on the mend, thank heavens. The nuns have left me to care for her because they say I know her best and so will know what to do do. They did offer to get her a doctor but I said she was much better and it wasn't necessary. So you needn't worry, she's not got measles and I think it was a mild touch of tonsillitis.

Anyway I got your letter today and it cheered me up a lot. Thanks a lot for the money. It was terribly kind and Julie will use it to help get her fare back home.

[Paragraph on possible work in Beckenham library after returning from France.]

I've got two big bunches of flowers today.They are really glorious, bright pink roses with very dark green leaves. They have a glorious perfume and the room looks heavenly with them. [...]. Francoise is going home for the weekend, so is Daniel, and Julie is in bed, so I'll have to eat on my own downstairs because we don't eat with the girls at midday. Actually I won't be eating alone because there's a five year old boy who eats with us every midday. He goes to the village school and lives too far away to go home at midday. He's got foul table manners and howls nearly all the time I'm so I could slosh him one, but fortunately he is a little better now, and if he yells I'll just turn up the radio to drown the noise. You said you leave it to me on what day Julie comes home but Sœur Martine is still not here, so I'll try and book her seat for 22:00 on Saturday so Henry won't be able to miss work and if Grandad could meet her at London airport it will be a great relief because the train and bus strikes start at midnight on Saturday, so you would all be stuck in London. She will no doubt arrive on the 23:00 Flight at London Airport. I'll send off her ticket tomorrow because Sœur Martin comes back this evening for a consultation. [...]

I heard the royal wedding [of Princess Alexandra of Kent and Angus Ogilvy] but it had one difference - it was in French. It was interpreted the whole time which was a bit annoying, but I had to listen to that because they wanted to hear the wedding here and in that way it was in the two languages. I will continue later but it's dinner time.

Tuesday 30th April.

I have written to B. E. A. for a ticket for May 11th at 22:00, arriving at Heathrow 23:00. If unavailable on the Saturday I have asked for the Sunday. That way Julie will see Paris and I will be able to arrive home in daylight.

Julie is completely better now and we have been having a lovely time because on Sunday all the girls went to a carnival but I thought that, as it involved an 8 mile walk and it was Julie's first day up, it would be best if we stayed behind. We therefore spent two hours over dinner, eating it on the table in the garden in the sun. I made Julie cover her head and she was ok, but as she swiped my scarf I didn't have anything over my head and got a lovely headache and feel sick after, which shows you how strong the sun was. Anyway I was better by three o'clock and we went for a lovely walk along by the Loue and got even browner. I paddled in a stream to cool off, but wouldn't let Julie, so you see I'm being very careful to look after her, aren't I?

We got back and had something to eat and then we played draughts until dinner time. After he went to bed and listened to the radio, and I did some more work on my over-blouse.

Gitan on the Clos with my hand on his neck

Gitan with snow on his nose

Yesterday Sœur Martin was in a right old mood because they have got to kill Gitan, and I was just as livid as Sœur Martin, so the day didn't go too well, and the nuns kept picking on us for nothing. For example, we always go out on the bikes, and the girls here have given us permission to use theirs as well, so four of us went out on them yesterday, but that we were going to collect another bike, we only took three bikes, taking it in turns to walk, but when the ground was flat we had two on one bike. Danielle, the lightest, being the passenger. But when we got back Sœur Martine had locked the cycle shed and stuck a note on the door asking us why we had taken the bikes, and we weren't to take them without express permission of the owners, and we were to explain to her exactly why we took them. We decided it must be the spring that has suddenly got her down, or else worrying about Gitan, which is more likely. Anyway we couldn't find Sœur Martin, so we left the bikes there. It so happened that we got permission for two of the three bikes we took anyway, but couldn't find the girl that owned the third bike, so we just took it as it was an old bike and we only had one on that bike. But, as luck would have it, we punctured a tyre! Can you see them believing it when we say that? They will swear that it was because there were two on it. Oh well, who cares? Not me anyway; after all, they wouldn't have any if I hadn't repaired three of them for the nuns.

I can't stop to write more because the postman is coming. Be good, see you in 47 days.